I Heart Faces - Self-Portrait

The challenge this week at I Heart Faces is "Self-Portrait. I thought this captured the spirit of the season well.

Head over to I Heart Faces to see all the wonderful photographers in their self-portraits!

Field Trip Friday

For school, I am going to try and make fridays "Fun Days." For this first week I took Oliver over to the Bellagio Conservatory to check out their summer display. Oliver has always loved flowers and there were plenty of vivid colors in this summer show.

See any cute creatures in the watery gazing ball?

Now you see him...

Now you don't...

There were giant ants everywhere...

...and little boys and snails...but no puppy dogs' tails...

Mr. Froggy

...beautiful glasswork

Then we stepped outside the Conservatory to do the *most important* thing on the day's list --- check out the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain at Jean-Philippe Patisserie. This fountain, which is enclosed in glass for climate control, circulates just under 2 tons of white, milk, and dark chocolate at a temperature of 120 degrees F! The chocolate rises 27 vertical feet from the lower level pumping room, and cascades down 14 feet (from ceiling level) through handcrafted glass vessels. It is a beautiful work-of-art, and oh-so-yummy-looking as well.

The patisserie has a crepe-making station with lots of delicious toppings to choose from, and Oliver was quite happy to stand and watch the crepe-master at work.

The dessert case made the little boy screech in delight.

And, they had a gelato bar, so Oliver and I got a scoop to share. Oliver chose Hazelnut flavor. A fine choice. We sat in back, watching people and ogling the desserts, and talking about which one we might like to take home as an edible souvenir.

This stuff was GOOD! Rich and creamy.

Glasswork everywhere.

Back to the chocolate fountain.

The cursory gurgling photo...

And the desserts...how to choose? Look how pretty -- almost too pretty to want to eat. Almost :)

I wonder which one we chose?

Afterwards, we walked a bit more through the Conservatory.

We said goodbye to the ant giants...

...and took one last shot with our souvenir in hand.

Oh, yes. This is the dessert we chose. I think the name was Nutella MilleFieux, with a bit of shaved gold leaf. Since Nutella is delicious straight from the jar, I knew this would be delectable. The mousse was made just the way I prefer - rich, thick, and creamy. It was absolutely decadent, well-worth the price, and gave us two days-worth of dessert!

We are already looking forward to going back - mainly to get more dessert!!

First Cavity Filled!!

Our boy, who is about as tender-hearted as they come, and not typically very brave, made it through his first filling!! No! He did NOT pass out. No! He did not scream, or choke, or any of the other horrid things I'd imagined. I have been prepping for this for weeks, so that we both would stay calm, at least that was my plan....and for once things went according to plan!

I was told ahead of time not to use the word S-H-O-T. Anything but.

Freeze. Frozen. Numb. Those worked.

The worse part was getting up at 6am for the 7am appointment time. Difficult for a little boy who gets up at 9am. I wanted a later time but was told that "Doc likes the kids to come in early so if there is screaming/crying they won't annoy/aggravate/scare the other clients away. Or something very similar. I figured she was probably joking. Then I thought she probably wasn't. And I was a little worried.

I had contemplated taking Oliver to one of those kiddie dentists where the waiting rooms were filled with video games that enticed...but I cringed at the thought of all the germs crawling around, simply to have some fun prior to still getting the cavity filled.

I happen to love our dentist, however, so I figured I would give Dr. Devore a chance to take care of our little guy first. And I am so glad I did. He, as well as all the staff there, are so wonderful and I couldn't have asked for better treatment of Oliver. They showed him the tools, talked about what they would be doing, and made him feel at ease. Oliver was so brave and was raring to go! Dr. Devore promised me that Oliver would never know he received a shot. I was still totally skeptical.

The bright lights seemed to bother Oliver the most, so he got his own pair of dark glasses, instantly turning him into Joe Cool.

getting started

getting the S-H-O-T

Wow. Here the S-H-O-T is complete, without any fanfare!! Amazing! Dr. Devore then shows off some cool tool for Oliver.

Filling in progress.

You know it is going well when Oliver gives the DOUBLE thumbs-up sign!!

checking his handiwork

after it is all done...a tender moment :)

Oliver asked for a mirror to admire his tooth

Oliver said the hardest part was keeping his mouth open for such a long time (although it seems to stay open easily enough at other times).

And naturally, the BEST part of going to the dentist and finishing up is getting to plunder through the treasure chest of goodies while smoking a cigarette! Er...uh...I mean chewing on a chunk of cotton!! :)

Dr. Devore even personally called Oliver the day after to check on him and make sure he was OK. Oliver was giddy with happiness and proceeded to tell me how he LOVES everyone at our dentist's office!

And all is good again, for now. And my boy can obviously be tougher than I expected. I am so very proud. Thank you Dr. Devore!

First Day of Kindergarten

The day I thought would never arrive...arrived. Our little boy started kindergarten today! As a sometimes scrapbooker and avid photographer (albeit amateur), I always envisioned how that day would begin, with me snapping photo after photo of our little one from behind, backpack in tow, as he stepped onto the yellow schoolbus that would take him away into the real world. Me, blubbering like most Mothers tend to do on that day. Me, coming into the quiet house, wondering what on earth I would do with all the free time I had dreamed about for years.

Contrary to all my thoughts of how this day would go down, none of these happened. In fact, not even one tear was shed.

After contemplating the idea of homeschooling for months, it was now reality. Our day began like any other "in the real world," except instead of the schoolbus pictures and lots of crying, we shuffled our boy into the backyard for a few photos to mark the day.

Oliver ~ 5 years old

Taking the road less-travelled is a bit scary, however, there are many who have paved the way for us with fabulous results and a wealth of information to assist us in this endeavor. We have a long list of reasons for why we decided to homeschool, and I have no doubt this is the right path for our family. I am so excited to begin our new journey together, and Oliver is even more thrilled. Whether you agree with our decision or not, thank you to everyone who has supported us in our choice!!

"Pets" Photo Challenge

The challenge this week at I Heart Faces is "Pets." I am submitting this photo of our precious girl, Skippie Lulu. She is slowing down at 11 years old, but she romped around like a puppy in these fields of alfalfa (i *think* it is alfalfa) when we were passing through Utah.

Romp on over to the I Heart Faces site to see all the fabulous pet photos!

Happy Easter!

It's Easter morning! I try to capture some Kodak moments but this is the expression I get from Oliver. So, I give it up and let him enjoy his baskets in peace. :)

Skippie was happy to pose with her Easter treats. E. Bunny was so thoughtful!

I had some heavy bribes going on...unless we took a few minutes for some nice Easter photos to be taken, there would not be a big egg hunt. So, here are our "nice" photos. Oliver is extra handsome when all dressed up.

Hey--Mommy got in one, too!

Uh, oh. The look. As in...hurry up and get on with it...

Yes, we had a big egg hunt!

Stalking the eggs...

Basketful of goodies.

Later on we went to a friend's house for Easter Lunch. I made some Bunny Cakes ala Betty Crocker. They came out very tiny, were kinda corny, but Oliver loved helping to make them, and they were festive.

On the way home we were greeted with this spectacular Easter Sunset! What a way to end the day!

To see lots of photos from the last week or so, click here.